About

This Place Will Be Water

$4,894

pledged of $1,000 goal

185

backers

This is a map of New York City if the climate increases by 2°C

source: Climate Central

It's time to force the conversation, to remind people so often of the threat that bares down on us that they are moved to action. By placing stickers in public spaces that will be under water, we hope to help make Climate Change unavoidable in the public consciousness and compel grassroots political pressure for solutions.

Climate Change is the most pressing and consequential challenge of our time. It's also terrifying to even think about.

And so, we often shut it out completely. We turn away from contemplating it or even understanding how it will impact the spaces we live in. But we have to face the challenge and the immense stakes–both as individuals and as a society. This project is a simple, participatory effort meant to empower you to make the stakes of climate change clear and visible in your community. Utilizing detailed projections of sea level rise, backers of this project will receive biodegradable stickers to place in public spaces that will be permanently underwater with an increase of 2°C (3.7°F) in our climate. Two degrees Celsius is the limit climate scientists have urged us to focus on achieving in our public policy. The truth is, it's a target that requires immediate and decisive action to achieve or we will suffer catastrophic environmental consequences.

It's possible to meet this challenge but it requires significant political pressure. Political pressure isn't possible without collective awareness. This project is a collaborative effort to force collective awareness about climate change.

The Project

To force people to think about the very real and local stakes of Climate Change, this project will provide stickers for backers to post in public places that will eventually be permanently under water with a 2°C increase in global temperatures.

The stickers are designed to convey the stakes of climate change in clear and stark terms that can be easily understood by any viewer. Because exerting political pressure is the most important action people can take to address climate, the stickers urge people to "Demand Action on Climate Change" instead of a more vague entreaty like "Fight Climate Change".

The stickers are 100% biodegradable and compostable, made primarily from cornstalks grown and manufactured in the USA. The stickers are expected to degrade over a period of 6 months, so they will last a while but not cause any permanent impact on the environment. They are more expensive to produce, but we don't want to be contributing even more plastic waste to the environment. We are also purchasing carbon offsets to mitigate the rest of the production and shipping footprint of this project.

Due to order minimums and the cost of the biodegradable stickers, additional designs will unlock if this project is able to surpass our initial $1,000 goal. Update: We hit all four stretch goals, so all four designs will be produced. :)

How Can I Find Out What Will Be Under Water in My Area?

Visit thisplacewillbewater.org to look up how sea level rise will impact your city or region. We are utilizing Climate Central's Surging Seas tool to provide participants with highly detailed projections of sea level rise in every location on Earth. Here are some major cities (click to explore):

What if I don't live in a place threatened by sea level rise?

You can still participate in the project by pledging to pay for a canvasser who will post the stickers on your behalf in an affected location of your choosing.

Sharing Your Work

If you participate in this project, please send us photos of the stickers in the wild and/or post to social media with the hashtag #thisplacewillbewater. We'd like to chronicle the efforts of people who choose to participate in this project - thanks!

The fish illustration is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 1.0 license. The author is Dr Tony Ayling, the illustration was originally published in Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand by Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982)ISBN 0-00-216987-8.

Risks and challenges

I already have a printer lined up and have received a printing sample for this run. I don't expect any delays or issues with a project this simple but if this project winds up having a lot of backers shipping could be delayed for some.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 120 or more
About US$ 120

Sponsor a canvasser

Tell us what city and neighborhood you want stickers posted in or let us decide. We'll hire a local to put up 30 stickers on your behalf and send you photos. The more you pledge the more stickers we will have put up.